NORTH SALT LAKE — The process of possibly relocating Stericycle is farther along than it was when environmental activist Erin Brockovich joined Foxboro residents a month ago to protest the medical waste facility.

“I think it’s safe to say that resident involvement has helped move the process along, but Stericycle and the city have been in discussions for some time,” said North Salt Lake City Mayor Len Arave.

Arave confirmed Wednesday that Stericycle is looking seriously at relocating its facility, currently housed within the Foxboro subdivision boundaries, blocks away from Foxboro Elementary School.

However, he said there is no final decision, nor time frame set.

Arave couldn’t say where the beleaguered company is considering moving, but did say the company is closer to finding a new location and that company officials have told the city they recognize the business is incompatible with its current location.

Stericycle incinerates medical waste from seven western states and is the only facility of its type in the west. In May, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality issued a violation notice to the company for exceeding emission limits on nitrogen oxide, dioxins and other hazardous pollutants.

The company faces potential fines from the state’s Division of Air Quality for violations that occurred between December 2001 and April 2013, according to the division.

Stericycle attorneys submitted a request for agency action to the state DAQ denying the company’s emissions violated its operating permit and blaming high emissions numbers in one sampling on faulty lab analysis.

They maintain they are operating in full compliance with state guidelines.

State legislators Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, and Rep. Becky Edwards, R-North Salt Lake are both looking at measures they can support to move the facility or close its doors.